The Town of Sutton renews its agreements on employee working conditions

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sutton, October 7, 2021 – During the October 4 meeting, Sutton’s municipal council adopted the renewal of the two agreements concerning the working conditions of the Town’s employees: the collective agreement for unionized employees and the policy on working conditions of management employees. These agreements had expired in December 2020 and were renewed retroactively on January 1, 2021 for a period of five years, until December 31, 2025.

Sutton, like many municipalities, is suffering from a general labour shortage. It has been experiencing a very high rate of staff turnover, which affects the efficiency of its administration and, thus, the services it can provide its citizens. “It was imperative that we review salaries to attract and retain staff, particularly our blue-collar workers, as they are being offered increasingly competitive salaries every month,” said Mayor Michel Lafrance at the council meeting. “We wanted to address these issues before the end of our mandate to allow the next council to have a free hand.”

Collective agreement

Negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement (Resolution number 2021-10-415) were held between four representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) – Local 3246 (the union of Sutton’s employees) and three representatives of the Town’s administration, that is, the Mayor, the Director General and the Director of Public Works and Capital Assets. According to Director General Pascal Smith, “the negotiations went well in a climate of collegiality and collaboration. The union and management parties reached agreement rapidly to everybody’s satisfaction.” In addition to the agreement on the nominal clauses (those that do not affect the payroll), both parties agreed to a significant salary adjustment of 16.7% applicable in 2021 in order to catch up with other municipalities and the private sector.

Policy on the working conditions of management employees

With respect to the renewal of the agreement with the managers (Resolution number 2021-10-413), the council called upon the expertise of the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), who delegated Ms. Chantale Boisvert to assist Mayor Michel Lafrance and Councillor André Forest. Following discussions with three management representatives, the new agreement grants a 7% salary increase applicable in 2021 to management employees, thus making the positions more attractive. “We also corrected two major irritants concerning overtime and a trailer clause,” said the mayor. This trailer clause obliged the employer to automatically grant any gains or benefits obtained in the collective agreement for unionized staff—for example, salary increases —to management. This clause has now been abolished.

General Manager’s employment contract

As part of the renewal of the agreements, the employment contract of the General Manager was removed from the policy on working conditions for management employees (Resolution number 2021-10-414). “The contract is now separate from the management policy in order to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest during negotiations,” noted the mayor. The current general manager’s contract has been modified and extended until January 5, 2021.

Comparisons

Payroll analyses were conducted by the UMQ as part of the negotiations:

  • In 2020, the payroll was $3,374,888 from a budget of $11,604,256, that is, 29.1% of the budget;
  • In 2021, the payroll — including salary increases granted in the agreements— is $3,843,095 from a budget of $12,024,928, that is 32.0% of the budget.

According to the UMQ, the average percentage of the total payroll for municipalities of the same size was 39.9% in 2020. This data shows that the Town of Sutton maintains a reasonable proportion of its total payroll in relation to its budget.

Organizational chart updated

As part of the negotiations for the renewal of the management agreements, adjustments were also made to two positions: the former position of Coordinator of Recreation, Community Life and Culture was changed to Director of Recreation, Community Life and Culture. As well, the position of Water Technician became the Water Management Foreman. The organizational chart of the Town of Sutton’s administration has been updated on its website.

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Resolution No. 2021-10-415 – Adoption of Collective Agreement (in French)

Resolution No. 2021-10-413 – Adoption of Policy on Working Conditions for Management Employees (in French)

Resolution No. 2021-10-414 – Amendment to General Manager Employment Contract (in French)